ACLU of Massachusetts v. U.S. Department of Defense

We sued the U.S. Department of Defense for public records on military officers assigned to serve as temporary immigration judges. The apparent deployment of active-duty military personnel as judges with the power to deport and jail civilians raises serious constitutional questions.

On July 29, 2026, the ACLU of Massachusetts filed a public records lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), seeking documents about the Trump administration’s apparent deployment of active-duty military personnel as temporary immigration judges. At the time of filing, it appeared that several personnel were already hearing cases in Massachusetts.

In the summer of 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved plans to deploy up to 600 military lawyers to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to serve as temporary immigration judges.

In October 2025, the ACLU of Massachusetts filed a public records request seeking more information. In response, the U.S. Marine Corps provided a handful of documents indicating that reserve military lawyers are being recruited to serve as temporary immigration judges on Active Duty for Operational Support (ADOS) orders. (ADOS is a program providing temporary active-duty opportunities for those in the Marine Corps Reserve.)

However, the DOD has not turned over additional public records, including a memorandum of understanding between the DOD and the DOJ about the program. The lawsuit seeks the public release of these records as soon as possible.

For updates on this case, please refer to case documents and press releases below.